Wednesday, December 21, 2011

SEASON'S GREETINGS!


this is our holiday card this year. theFranchize did the art and i put the words on there.

i know it's been quite a while since i've posted but it seems so much has happened! holiday season is generally busy for the hubby and i with him doing tons of caricature events and us both working on gift illustrations/commissions. but this year for some reason, the amount of work seems a bit more intense than ever.
and of course, to kick it all off we moved right after Thanksgiving! so our life is in boxes and we had zero internet access except for our phones for the first 2 weeks of moving. we're still maneuvering around boxes in the apartment now and i'm just trying to find a tiny moment between holiday shopping, gift wrapping, and working to clean up enough that we can open presents near the tree.
speaking of the tree - this is my first ever live christmas tree! my entire life our family has had fake trees. (of course in the philippines, pine trees aren't exactly accessible.) YAYS!




i wish everyone a safe and happy holidays. whether u celebrate christmas, hanukkah, kwanzaa, or just life in general, i hope u get to celebrate it merrily with family and loved ones.

Monday, November 28, 2011

panegyrize [verb]

(PAN-i-juh-rahyz) - to eulogize; to deliver or write a panegyric about


HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FOLKS!!
hope everyone had a happy and filling thanksgiving (or just a great thursday for those that don't celebrate it). i had a nice chilled out one this year. spent it with some family but nothing big. just great food and beer and a Harry Potter marathon. =)
but with the fantastic-ness (yes i know that's not a word) of thanksgiving comes the dread of packing because we're moving this week. i've been doing nothing since the holiday but breathing in settled-in dust as i pack up stuff. i can't believe how much junk we've built up! we've got about 12 bags of trash already and our "lab" (computer/working room) is not even packed yet. SIGH.
it may be a while before i'm able to write another entry so i'm getting it in right before we move. i've been unable to do a lot of work lately cuz of the holiday and then packing BUT since the Grimm Fairy Tales sketchcards are out now, here's all of the ones i've done! i just finished up on a Lady Death and Hack/Slash crossover set so once those have been released, i'll post them as well. next up, Josie & the Pussycats and then a Shi set. really excited to work on that!
so for now, wish me luck so i don't get buried under all these boxes. ={

Thursday, November 10, 2011

pansophy [noun]

(PAN-suh-fee) - universal wisdom or knowledge

IMAG0290  IMAG0293

just wanted to quickly share what's going on on my art table at the moment. oh yes, yummy delicious goodness! and the best part about these yummy-lookin cupcakes is that they're free! that makes it more delectable, in my opinion. they're from this very fancy place (at least by my humble standards) in DC called Sprinkles. now u may or may not have seen previous cupcake pics from Georgetown Cupcakes on my desk. those cupcakes are really yummy too. but as crazy as it is to pay so much for Georgetown Cupcakes, these Sprinkles cupcakes are even more expensive! but maybe i just need to buy myself some fancy-pants and get with the trend. =P 

anyways, i'm definitely still drawing. i just needed a cupcake break. yays!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

plebiscite [noun]

(PLEB-uh-sahyt) - a direct vote of the qualified voters of a state in regard to some important public question
i guess it's no coincidence that that's the word of the day. our house has been bombarded with campaigning calls for the past few days and hopefully it will stop today. 
not much to share today as far as pics. i finished up a Lady Death|Hack/Slash crossover card set for 5Finity this weekend but i'm not allowed to show any previews just yet. i'm still working on a fairly large commission and i can't really show that yet either cuz i like the client to be surprised. i DID, however, fix up the hubby, TheFranchize's, website so check that out! it functions like my website but looks more fun!
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i also did a quick update to my site as well, the most obvious being the lady in my header image. i now have a page for HOT CAKES AND OTHER ART BOOKS that have info about available books. take a look at it and if u'd like ur copy of Hot Cakes:Stacked & Ready, just email me! 
i've also added Identity Comics Studio's tentative 2012 convention schedule. the two listed are the ones that we have received confirmation to set up at Artist Alley. of course as 2012 flies in, i'll keep it updated so keep an eye on that. 
i've been doing a lot of admin work these past couple of days but i promise as soon as i'm able to show any images, i'll be sure to post. oh here's something!
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this was my first attempt at refilling my black copic marker. i was warned that it would get quite messy, but i figured i'm fairly meticulous about a lot of things so how bad could it be. turns out, it was definitely quite a mess. and where i thought the worst was over with this shot, after a false sense of security, i opened the cap again and all types of ink spewed out. my middle and pointer fingers were covered in black ink! couldn't take a pic of that cuz i'd have ruined my phone with ink. as it is, my middle finger still has black crud around my nail so i look like i'm a mechanic or something. i hope it comes out sooner rather than later. 
turns out, thanks to the @CopicMarker tweets, they sent me a link on how to properly refill ur copic markers for next time. i really shoulda looked for this first before diving in blind. if u use copics, i suggest u look at it too cuz, again, it can get quite messy. =P

Monday, October 31, 2011

happy halloween folks!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween! as usual, I think I’d do some type of Halloween-inspired artwork and fail to do it in time. sigh. SO, in lieu of a Halloween piece, I’ve decided to post the picture below! it’s of a friend of mine who is essentially cosplaying herself for Halloween based on a bday illustration I gave her and her twin. I dunno if anyone gets all type of flattered by this, but I sure am. as someone that works in this industry, one of the coolest things to see is someone dressed up as something u made up! I can’t wait till the day when girls are dressing up in their fav Lali outfit from our books. so to me, this just brings that dream even closer!

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thanx, Julia, for makin my Halloween this year!

Friday, October 28, 2011

berserk [adjective]

(ber-SURK) – violently or destructively frenzied; wild; crazed; deranged

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I wonder if they made the word of the day something kinda scary-ish cuz of Halloween. but I keep forgetting that Halloween isn’t until monday. lots of tv programs are really confusing me, that’s why. anyways, not much to see on my drawing table today. I’m working on a fairly large commission for a repeat client and it has taken a couple days of trial and many many errors to come up with a composition that is finally somewhat working. so I’m hoping the client likes it so far so I can move forward. luckily, I have some of the best commission clients in the land cuz they sure are patient with me. =) the big figure is a 3-headed female creature thingy with 4 arms.

Adam-Martin-Cards-ALL

I’ve also just finished a large order of Artist Exclusive sketchcards also for a repeat client. again, best clients in the land cuz he’s been waiting patiently for all of these. he’s big on my Hack/Slash cards and I’m really glad cuz I think those are one of the most fun sets I’ve worked on. dunno what it is about goth chicks and blood spatters but I’m really enjoying drawing it. one day soon, I’ve gotta draw a gothy cheesecake pinup chick with bloody spatters. that’ll be neat!

also, some exciting news – I’ll be doing a page sometime next month hopefully for The-Gutters.com! my husband theFranchize did a page for them a while back and we met them in person at NYCC. since I don’t normally do sequentials, I’ll be enlisting his help. =) yay for very talented spouses!!

PENG-PENG_BettiePageCards Pengs_SmallProofs Pengs_LargeProofs

and whilst I’m posting, I may as well post some stuff I’ve forgotten to post lastely. these are the Bettie Page cards I finished about a year ago now for Versicolor Productions. it’s for the Bettie Page Private Collection set. I believe they finally released it about a month and a half ago so I’m a little late in posting these. the first pic is of all the ones I did, then the next 2 are my Artist Proofs.

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this one above is the 2nd of 2 digital images I did for them. the first one I showed before with her on a tree.

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lastly, this is a commission I did about a month ago now from an ebay auction I ran. the client is a photographer and he asked that I use one of his photos to turn into a character, in this case it was Catwoman. it was an inks-only commission but I threw in the red cuz I just thought it looked cool. drew this with pens and copic markers on 11x14” bristol. he’s getting a couple more from me in the near future so keep an eye out for those.

I think I’m pretty much all caught up now on posting stuff. yay for progress!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

ferly [noun]

(FER-lee) - something unusual, strange, or causing wonder or terror

NYCC11 00000

so, it’s been a week since New York Comic Con and I’m only just now feeling like I’ve caught up on sleep and work. though it was probably one of the worst travelling experiences I’ve ever had, it was one of the best comic conventions we’ve ever done! the travelling experience had nothing to do with NYCC itself, with the exception of the convention center. carpet was coming off on everyone’s shoes, carpet stank by friday afternoon, and at the end of the whole con, they turned off ALL escalators and had only 1 working elevator. so all of us exhibitors were pretty F-ed in the B with getting our stuff outta there. we had to make multiple trips up and down the escalators to get our stuff down cuz the line for the 1 elevator was massive.

OTHER THAN THAT, the con was great! met some great new people, hung out with old friends we don’t get to see but once a year, and got some cool stuff to bring home. the artist alley was much larger than I expected but it was chock full of some of the most amazing talent in the industry. sometimes at smaller shows, there’s quite a bit of range of art skills but at this one, we were surrounded by really talented professionals. having industry pros intermingled with independent artists really helped to get everyone circulating the whole area. and our banners, though there was some crazy drama trying to even attain them, turned out looking pretty frackin fly in my humble opinion. I’ve never seen my art so huge before but I can certainly get used to it. =P it was actually the best show that ID Comics Studios has done to date. I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes from it.

for instance, I got a pretty great review of my artbook, Hot Cakes: Stacked & Ready that someone bought from me while he was there. go check it out - Focus on the Artist: Penelope Gaylord, a new gen illustrator that will leave you panting. I was very surprised and extremely flattered. I’m glad I made a good impression on at least one person there. =) I hope everyone else felt this way about me and my book.

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here are the con sketches I did while I was there. I didn’t do very many, but I enjoyed every single one. these were enough to keep me busy while I was there because I really do draw slower than the other guys in the studio. I’ve gotten faster, just not that much. and yes, one of those is indeed Rainbow Brite! this one guy asked each of us to draw in his book anything that we have always wanted to draw but never have. so Rainbow Brite it was!

as far as the bad travelling experience went, well it mostly had to do with the hotel we stayed in. but I really don’t wanna bore u with the unpleasantries. so I’ll just say that we’re never staying at the Holiday Inn Midtown ever again and I just couldn’t get out of NY fast enough at the end of the trip. unfortunately that meant we weren’t able to hang out with some folks at the end of the trip at Burgers & Cupcakes (which I’m sure would’ve been just the type of place I’d have enjoyed). hopefully next year, it’ll be better and everything will work out.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

new york comic con!

THEGREATESTBANNERS

ID Comics Studios will be at Artist Alley Tables T14 & T15

it’s finally here!! we’re leaving midnite tonite to drive up to New York Comic Con in time for setup. then it is ON! =) look out for these banners set up at the con and say hi to the friendly folks underneath it. ^__^ we’re open for commissions during the show. we have special con commission rates of $25/pencils | $50/inks | $100/colors. we’ll have deals on our books, deals on our prints, deals on everything! so come by and take a gander! I can’t wait to meet new folks. this will be our first time attending and setting up at NYCC so wish us luck!!!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

jaundiced [adjective]

(JAWN-dist) - affected with or exhibiting prejudice, as from envy or resentment

We’ll be at New York Comic Con this weekend!! Oct 13-16, ARTIST ALLEY TABLES T14 & T15!!

I’ve been so crazy busy and I know I say that all the time. but I swear it’s true! I thought working for myself and working at home would mean I’d have time to do whatever I want whenever I want. turns out its actually kind of a paradox. cuz u could do that, but then u’d fall behind on deadlines and end up paying for it harshly in the long run with not a single boss to blame it on but urself. sigh.

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2011HotCakes_CoverImage_lowres

at any rate, enough whining. let’s get down to business. we are busy gearing up for the convention this week and it has finally happened! I got an artbook done!!! myself and the rest of the studio have lost many winks putting each of our artbooks together, plus our new Brotherhood of Fighters: Behind the Cage book! oh it’s gonna be somethin else at this con, I tell ya! I really should’ve written about it while all these things were happening. now I feel like I need to cram all these things in one blog post and nobody wants that. sigh.

on to my new artbook!! it’s the first of its kind and I’ll probably do one every 2 years. this is 50 pages chock full of art by me – pinups, commissions, sketchcards, and supergirl covers. it’s called 2011 Hot Cakes: Stacked & Ready. as with the mini book, I’ll be doodling a quick sketch in the book as a thanks for anyone that buys it. the cover image is a new illustration I did which I’ve turned into a print much like the other pink haired lady on my mini book. I’m trying to move my art towards a less-comic-centered direction and more be about pretty ladies. who knows, maybe someday I’ll have tshirts with them on it! the book will run for $30. we’ll have lots of deals with the books and prints at New York Comic Con so if ur there, definitely stop by our tables to find out what else u can score for ur bucks!

Supergirl-53_Cover_web

also, I forgot to put up last month’s Supergirl #53 cover for PendantAudio.com. because of August’s semi-controversial cover, I was going to draw Supergirl on a unicorn with rainbows and bunnies this month to balance it out. but I decided to save that for another time and instead draw a better shot of my gladiator-supergirl design. and even though the story actually has Superman strictly forbidding her from really hurting these alien baddies, it looked more badass for her to have alien blood on her hands and clothes. I’m taking a break from this month’s cover because we’re so F-in busy with the con and the possibility of moving next month. SOOOO I got my studiomate and fellow zombie-slayer Flash to draw for me this month! I can’t flippin wait to see what he does!! (he’ll be drawing my hubby’s Superman cover next month for the same reason.)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

acme [noun]

(ACK-mee) – the highest point of something; the highest level or degree attainable

Peng-4Babies-Cards_low

wow. had I known that acme was an actual word and that it meant that, my whole bugs bunny experience would’ve been even more hilarious! they’ve completely changed the meaning of that word for me (and possibly for my entire generation) cuz to me, when I see “Acme" it means “uh uh, don’t get that. it WILL blow up in ur face.” ah the new things I learn every day.

just wanted to share these really quickly. these are the cards I drew this year for 5Finity Productions’ Superheroes for Babies charity cards. after I drew the 5 DC Comics ladies, I wanted to draw 5 things I never really get to draw. it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do that would still be somewhat relevant and I decided to tackle Disney villains. as u may or may not know, I love me some Disney! can’t help it! it’s a part of my childhood. heck I learned how to draw thanks to the princesses when I was very young. I wanted to make the villains pretty and I always thought that Maleficent was the hottest bad guy ever! so, naturally, that’s my favorite card I did the entire set. =)

also, just wanted to give a quick shout – WE’LL BE AT TABLES T14 & T15 AT NYCC!! I’m sure I’ll be announcing that every so often between now and October 13th so u’ll remember. ;P

 


i still have a very small handful of my Mini Hot Cakes artbook. so if you're interested in one, let me know! we have a mini comic show in Annapolis at the end of the month and will be bringing what i have to it.

my new mini artbook “2011 Mini Hot Cakes", available for sale now. u get a free 13x20” print! check out my previous entry, August 4 - Aesopian, or go to my journal on my DA page, Peng-Peng.deviantart.com, for more info!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

panache [noun]

(puh-NASH) - dash or flamboyance in manner or style

Supergirl-52_Cover_web

so this was last month’s Pendant Audio’s Supergirl radio show cover #52. this and the Superman show covers, which my hubby theFranchize draws, are featured the day the episodes come out on SupermanHomepage.com. so just when I was beginning to wonder if anyone pays attention to the covers that I draw, I put this one out and suddenly folks are outraged! apparently I’ve crossed some line and this bordered on S&M. now I’m not one to just start arguing with strangers but I do get a weeee bit miffed that people will only care to comment with negativity and don’t bother with positive things. like nobody ever writes that they like a particular cover or anything like that. but they’ll get upset about something like this. which, if I may explain, was actually part of the story! Supergirl is actually in gladiator-type clothes and was shackled. now of course I could’ve gone the safe route of just drawing her sitting and her hands chained in front of her, but I thought this was sexy without being raunchy. someone did kinda jump to my rescue and compared it to slave Leia and I couldn’t help but be like “YEAH! EXACTLY!” (tho I just said it to myself). I mean if there’s an S&M thing, slave Leia was wearing less clothes than my Supergirl, her chain was around her flippin neck, and she was being held captive by some nasty slimy slug dude! goodness knows what he did to her before we saw them at his palace! yuck! but whatever. most of the people from Pendant Audio stood behind my decision and I felt much better. I was really afraid I’d be fired. that would suck. I promised them this month, it’ll be Supergirl sitting on a fat pony with rainbows and bunnies everywhere. that ought to be safe enough.

below is what I originally drew for the cover. this was her in her newly redesigned costume cuz I just wanted to try it out. but when I heard they’re supposed to be dressed somewhat incognito with other warrior folks, I had to redesign it. so instead of erasing and drawing over this, I just redrew it. and of course when I redrew it, it’s not as cool as the original. T_T story of my life. ah well. at least I have this.

Supergirl in chains

Monday, September 12, 2011

dilatory [adjective]

(DIL-uh-tor-ee) - given to, or marked by, procrastination or delay

so here i am nearly 4 weeks after Baltimore Comic Con and i am only just now getting around to writing about it. for shame!! i'm really sorry. when baltimore con ended, it really gave us time to breath and catch up to lots of stuff that were falling terribly behind due to getting ready to go to San Diego and whatnot. after baltimore, an earthquake happened here in VA. which is crazy for us cuz that never happens on the east coast. being from the philippines, however, i remember having been through it before but i was very little last time i experienced it. i wasn't as freaked out about it as some, but it was still kinda nuts when u think about this area not having had one in a hundred years. o_O

then in the same week, hurricane irene came around to the area and everyone was on high alert. the hubby and i ended up traveling into DC for a caricature gig even though everyone was being evacuated out of it. it turned out to be not as terribly bad as they said it would be. our area managed to get out practically unscathed (with the exception of a few mailbox numbers missing). i heard others didn't have the same luck. =( 

then i got flippin sick! like sick as a flippin dog! i think it was the flu or something! dunno if it was cuz i got rained on during hurricane irene or what. but it was not fun. plus i ended up spreading it to all my family members. not a good look. anyways, so that's the drama with me.

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now, onto Baltimore Con! the entire Identity Comics Studios crew was there (with the exception of Joe Jaro) and we had a blast! it's a lot of con packed into 2 days and i really didn't get to see much of it at all. we were pretty much stuck behind the tables (and trapped by the other people around us). we finally got to hang out with our fellow nerdy pals Dave Perillo and Scott Derby and Jeff, who collectively we've endearingly called "Derby Dudes". we only see them at comic cons but we have ridiculously fun times when we hang out. our buddy Bill Meiggs and his wife hung out with us as well so all in all it was fun times. the day after we hung out with Comfort Love and Adam Withers and talked shop in the weirdest restaurant i've ever been in. it was called Paper Moon and i think it really had some significant effect on my psychological well-being, probably more than i care to admit. other than the weird/creepy mannequins and dolls around me, it was cool talking to them. 

i only drew a few commissions this year. i think the black hole that was Stan Lee being next to us hurt more than helped but it is what it is i suppose. the first commission i was asked to draw was a Jawa from Star Wars holding a martini and a luggage. with the help of my studiomate Flash on colors, it really turned out cute! the Blink commission i ended up having to take that home to work on cuz the guy asked for it towards the end of the day and i was working on another one. 

all in all, i had tons of fun and got a lot of compliments on my Poison Ivy print. =) i never get tired of compliments. can't wait till next year!

 


i still have a very small handful of my Mini Hot Cakes artbook. so if you're interested in one, let me know! we have a mini comic show in Annapolis at the end of the month and will be bringing what i have to it.

my new mini artbook “2011 Mini Hot Cakes", available for sale now. u get a free 13x20” print! check out my previous entry, August 4 - Aesopian, or go to my journal on my DA page, Peng-Peng.deviantart.com, for more info!!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

collogue [verb]

(kuh-LOHG) – to confer secretly

mermaid_update

this was something I drew right before we left for Baltimore Con last friday. it’s for the Marla Bea Benefit which is for breast cancer and they ask artists to donate pieces that feature the color pink. I thought the dude was picking it up at the con but I was totally wrong. fail. anyway, this will be the first time I’m early so yay me!

it was drawn with pencils and pink & warm gray copics on 11x17 blue-line paper. I used an ultra-fine pink sharpie for the outline. it’s the same one I used on that tinkerbell sketch on my Mini Hot Cakes book. (I’ve really taken a liking to this pen!) this is a picture of it cuz again, I’m just not a fan of scanning in pieces. I chose the Little Mermaid because everytime I try to draw her, I fall very short of my own expectations so I keep practicing. this is actually the closest I’ve ever gotten to drawing her the way I like. I’m trying to make her look as “real” as I can get it without going overboard like giving her extra fins or a spiny tail. I think my gut instinct was to draw her with no seashell-bra but seein as how it’s for charity, I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate. I mean I don’t even know how those things stay on her! I just feel like a mermaid wouldn’t bother with clothes.

I looked up the new Pirates of the Caribbean mermaids for inspiration and I just think the main mermaid chick is so pretty. I thoroughly enjoyed their take on mermaids and I for one can’t wait till the movie comes out on bluray. haven’t been this excited about a POTC movie since the first one!

Baltimore Con was fantastic as always! had lots of fun crammed into 2 days. I’ll have more on it tomorrow along with some pics of commissions I did. I gotta get back to work now.


also, don’t forget about my new mini artbook “2011 Mini Hot Cakes", available for sale now. u get a free 13x20” print! check out my previous entry, August 4 - Aesopian, or go to my journal on my DA page, Peng-Peng.deviantart.com, for more info!!